Biking and competing??

[martinsky_ar]

I am dieting down for a figure competition and would love to get into road biking but I am worried about the fact that I might burn my muscle away b/c I will be at a deficit as far as calories go. There is really no way to track exactly how much I would be burning. I would be biking from home to the gym.. (JP Fitness here in downtown LR BTW ) .. doing my workout.. showering.. and walking one block away to where I work... how perfect right?? And then biking back home. I CANNOT afford to lose any muscle that I already have and that is the main concern. Biking is extra curricular until the competition is over.. then I would love to start biking seriously. My mother does triathlons and is well versed in that sport so I hope to eventually follow in her foot steps. However, until then.. does anyone have any kind of input? Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated!

[silly]

Wear a heart rate monitor that tracks calories and eat enough to sustain the activity. Cycling a ten or twenty miles a day will not hurt you. Sure, we tend to slim down as we ride more, but most of the skinny roadies and mtbers you see put in massive hours a week while closely monitoring diet: up to 20ish a week, so they're definitely not the norm. We cyclists have the same recovery principles in place as lifters: recovery food 30 min - a couple of hours. To make you feel better, I'm in a deficit (500-1000 cals/day) and training 15-20 hours a week. I've lost ten pounds in about 6 weeks, but it isn't muscle. How do I know? I'm also increasing the amount of power I can produce on the bike, and my legs and stomach are looking pretty good right now. So, if you ride and smell "ammonia" you need to eat more because you're breaking down protein, but its the same as any other activity. Ammonia smell = bad = more calories.

[martinsky_ar]

Originally Posted by silly

Wear a heart rate monitor that tracks calories and eat enough to sustain the activity. Cycling a ten or twenty miles a day will not hurt you. Sure, we tend to slim down as we ride more, but most of the skinny roadies and mtbers you see put in massive hours a week while closely monitoring diet: up to 20ish a week, so they're definitely not the norm. We cyclists have the same recovery principles in place as lifters: recovery food 30 min - a couple of hours. To make you feel better, I'm in a deficit (500-1000 cals/day) and training 15-20 hours a week. I've lost ten pounds in about 6 weeks, but it isn't muscle. How do I know? I'm also increasing the amount of power I can produce on the bike, and my legs and stomach are looking pretty good right now. So, if you ride and smell "ammonia" you need to eat more because you're breaking down protein, but its the same as any other activity. Ammonia smell = bad = more calories.

Thank you SOOO much for your input! I will be riding about 12 miles each way. Its pretty much a straight shot from where I live to downtown. The GOOD thing is that Little Rock is VERY biker friendly and runner friendly. Tons of places that have lanes for bikes and bike routes everywhere practically. Thats the thing that I love about this city... very very outdoorsy yet still a decent size city. Once again thank you so much. I guess I will have to do some adjusting to my diet once I find out just how many calories I am actually burning. I am totally excited about getting into this new sport! I LOVE rock climbing and kayaking so this is def another sport to add the repertoire. My mother fell in love with it so I am sure I will too

[silly]

We live in Little Rock, too. I work at Chainwheel, so if you need anything just let me know.

[martinsky_ar]

Oh wow. Cool. Didnt know you were in the area. I will def check it out soon. Thanks

[Jean-Paul]

Finally... This forum is starting to draw some locals!

Silly is a very experienced rider and she knows her bikes. She will steer you where you need to go.